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Monday, August 15, 2016

Maryland bears damage more crops than state can afford

OAKLAND, Md. (AP) — Ka-ching! That’s the sound of a bear biting into an ear of corn in a field in Garrett County.

Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching! That’s the sound of a lot of bears biting into $23,800 worth of crops during 2015, mostly corn, but some oats and even beehives.

“Garrett County farmers are good at feeding bears, but with the price of sweet corn it’s not cheap,” said Jay Maust, whose farm and cornfields stretch out alongside Aiken Miller Road just a rifle shot from Accident in the heart of the state’s bear country.

A year ago, Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service officials assessed the damage by black bears to Maust’s sweet corn at $1,200 and reimbursed him $190.80.

None of the other 12 certified claimants did any better, each receiving 16 percent of cost of the damage at their farms. Here’s the breakdown:

Every occupation whines according to the readers of SBYNews. - police, firemen, teachers. and now the farmers. It must be a great life to not work - sit behind a computer 24/7 whining about people that actually work for a living..

There's a problem when you pay out tax dollars to people for not working. And that includes paying farmers to not grow anything. This program seems to be paying from hunting license fees and black bear memorabilia proceeds. So there are limits to pay out. The answer for these farmers is to have crop insurance, grow something else in that area, or get a permit to shoot black bears.